Release Notes for Amirus Build 39

This file corresponds to Production release, version 1.4, build 38 of the AmirusMM mirror memory system. Please send all comments and bug reports to support@citruscontrols.com or telephone +1 702 614-0692. The present system has been tested on WindowsNT4/2000/XP. This installation kit is supported on Windows 2000/XP and NT4(SP6). Please contact Citrus Controls if you wish to use on Windows NT4/SP5 or earlier version. There is no support for NT4/SP2 or earlier. Support for IA-32 (Pentium) architecture only is provided in this distribution.

New features with this release

This is a maintenance release to improve the license management facility. Some cosmetic improvements have also been made to the Help file, message text files, and various error messages produced by the utility programs.

Bug fixes this release

1. The license facility now properly implements the 30-day trial option. Previously, cached copies of the software distributions were causing problems for our distribution partners.

Installation Notes

1. The software uses Microsoft Windows installer v2.0. Installation should be automatic from our distribution web site. Unlike the Beta test version, the trial license is now fully integrated into the installation process.
2. An Administrative Installation is the preferred route, since the system will run on more than one node. An Administrative Installation allows you to install onto several nodes on your local network without downloading the code from our web site more than once. Use a Normal installation only if you want to investigate the facilities of the program on a single node.
3. Amirus generally ought to be fully installed on the local disk. This is the default configuration is you select "Customize".
4. If you are limited for disk space, the "Manager Utility", "Monitoring and Diagnostics" and "Developer Environment" can be installed to run from the network (if you are using the Administrative Installation option).
5. Only one node in your system needs to have the Manager Utility installed. If you use the preconfigured  Ring, the Manager Utility isn't even required.
6. The Help file should always be installed locally if you need help support from the screen utilities.

Example programs

Examples of user code are provided as an optional feature of the product. To build the programs you will need to have your development environment set so that “[ProgramFiles]/Citrus Controls/Amirus/include” in the include path. To resolve the API symbols, you will need to put “[ProgramFiles]/Citrus Controls/Amirus/lib” in your library path. These definitions depend on the development kit you are using. For example, if you are using Microsoft Developer Studio, you can set these in Tools/Options/Directories.

To run programs your path variable should include “[ProgramFiles]/Citrus Controls/Amirus/bin”. This ought to be set automatically during the install process. This allows the image activator to find MMLibrary.dll.

Known Bugs

Installation:

1. The screen utilities are not fully integrated with Microsoft MSI. This means that a request for "Help" from those utilities will not cause the help file to be installed if during the installation process it has been marked "Feature will be installed when required" or "Will be installed to run from the network". The shortcut in the Start menu will, however, properly install the Help file if absent, and  will correctly resolve to the network location if that was how it was installed.. If you require on-line help from screen utilities, you should ensure that the Help feature is installed "Will be installed on the local hard drive".

MMManager:

1. There is no interlocking to prevent two or more users from trying to configure nodes simultaneously. You should make sure that only one person is using MMManager to configure nodes at any one time. This will be fixed in a subsequent release. Note that interlocking between MMManager and client processes is enforced.

MMService

No known bugs.

This product has been tested with a simulated ‘bad’ network with a discard rate of 4% (2% receive + 2% transmit), and has been found to be stable.

No extensive tests have been performed on multi-cpu systems. Performance reports are requested from users.

MMMonitor

No known bugs

MMTest

1. MMTest does not monitor the memory it is displaying for changes made by other nodes. You need to manually refresh the memory by changing screens or changing formatting options. This behavior recognizes the limitations of the display graphics, which cannot keep up with changes at typical display rates.

MMServiceConfigurer

No known bugs

Problem reporting

Please take a few moments to report problems or make suggestions to improve this product. We have devoted a lot of effort into making it solid and easy to use, and intend to enhance and extend it with your help.